The present invention relates to thermowells of the type used in temperature sensors. More specifically, the present invention relates to using an infrared sensor to measure temperature in such thermowells.
Industrial process sensors and transmitters are used to sense various characteristics of fluid flowing through a conduit, or contained within a vessel. The transmitters sense process parameters such as differential pressure, line pressure, temperature, and pH.
One type of temperature sensor uses thermocouples or resistance based temperature detectors which are typically protected by a metal or ceramic sheath known as a thermowell. The sensor is connected to an electronic circuit in a transmitter that reads the sensor signal and convert it to a temperature reading. The transmitter transmits the reading to a remote recipient such as a control, monitoring and/or safety system. The temperature value can be transmitted through different types of signals and media. It can be converted into an analog standard value such as 4 to 20 mA or through digital protocols such as HART®, Fieldbus, Profibus, DeviceNet, Modbus, Ethernet, etc. The transmitting media can be via wires, fiber optic, infrared or RF.
Infrared (IR) sensors are also known for sensing temperature.